Omar angry with Centre, calls SMS ban 'harassment'

Jammu, Apr 16: Expressing shock over the Centre's decision to ban short message service (SMS) on post-paid mobiles, Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah termed the move as an 'unnecessary harassment'.

"We asked for banning of the bulk SMS facility which we believe is being used to spread rumours and gossip in the name of news and also being used to cheat subscribers and such organisations are mushrooming. This request has not been understood properly (by the Centre)," Omar told a news agency.

The chief minister said that the Centre needs show more understanding when it comes to issues dealing with the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

"An officer sitting in Department of Telecommunication or Home Ministry cannot decide what is right or what is wrong for the people of my state," he added.

An angry Omar said such decisions from Centre were only acting as 'dampeners' in the state's attempts to bridge the gap between the state and the Centre and said, "This harassment needs to be put to an end once and for all and the bureaucrats need to learn their lessons while dealing with sensitive border states especially Jammu and Kashmir."

Citing security concerns, the Centre on Friday, Apr 16 banned SMS for post-paid subscribers in Jammu Kashmir and restricted the service to just 10 messages per day for pre-paid mobile users. This ban comes into effect at midnight.

OneIndia News